Julia Llewellyn’s If I Were You
Natasha and Sophie have been friends since they were young girls, but they hardly took similar paths in life.
Natasha is a powerful career woman who clings to her schedule book like it’s a life preserver. Even though she leads a busy life, it’s worth it to get all the fine things in life she wants. What’s the problem then? A writer comes along and she falls in love.
The problem is he has a girlfriend…
Sophie has always wanted to become the ultimate domestic goddess. Wife, mother, and pampered woman, of course. The problem is she’s been with Andy for years now, and he just won’t propose. She’s constantly on the lookout for potential love, but in an effort to get what she wants, she starts looking in the wrong place…
If I Were You is quite an amusing book with even more than your average romance novel to keep the characters confused and wondering if they’ll ever find the one. (Or if they already have and simply missed the chance of a lifetime.)
I was critical of the book at first because of the ‘surface’ nature of the characters. Sophie seemed completely uncomfortable being in her own head for any sort of deep thinking, and Natasha almost seemed too shy for even the reader. It was as if she knew people were reading about her and shied away.
However, given the oppositional qualities of the personalities of the ladies, I’m sure you, like I did, can find something in one or both of them to identify with. And even if they are a bit surface oriented at the beginning, there are strong character types in minor roles as well that will help carry you through as you get to know Sophie’s good heart and Natasha’s insecurities.
Some of the British phrases threw me off, to be honest. I wasn’t sure what some of them meant and had to slide by using the context. “Up the duff” while talking about pregnancy tests is pretty telling. That tactic worked fine for most of them, but I did find it annoying. I think the only reason I didn’t find it more annoying is because I’m used to that in my everyday life as an Aussimerican.
The sex is nicely injected – just another part of life so it didn’t seem awkward or forced in for the sake of the plot.
I have to say, my favourite plot line has to be the situation with Sophie and Olly. The whole thing was hilarious. It was like watching a car wreck: I just couldn’t look away.
All in all, this wouldn’t be the first romance I would recommend, but I would still recommend it as a funny read. It’s about an eight out of ten stars.
**
If you liked this review, check out my interview with author Caridad Pineiro
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